The helicopter had been in the air only minutes. It lifted off from the Hingurakgoda Air Base at 6:46 a.m. on Friday, May 9, 2025, headed for the Army Special Forces Training School at Maduru Oya, where a passing-out parade was under way. Soon after, the Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 came down in the Maduru Oya Reservoir, in deep water.
Twelve people were aboard: two pilots, aircrew members and Special Forces troops who were due to perform a heli-rappelling demonstration. The air force said an emergency forced the crash. Everyone was pulled out alive and taken first to Aralaganwila Hospital, then on to Polonnaruwa Base Hospital. Six of them later died of their injuries.
The dead were two air gunners and four Army Special Forces soldiers. Police named them as Sergeant W.M.S. Udaya Kumara, Corporal R.M.M. Methruwan, Corporal D.M.H.U. Dasanayake, Corporal M.S.L. Perera, Sergeant E.D. Thusitha and Corporal H.D.P.N. Premaratne. Nihal Gunathilaka, deputy director of Polonnaruwa General Hospital, said the other injured were not in serious condition.
The parade for intakes 55 and 56 was stopped halfway through.
What investigators are looking at
The Daily Mirror reported that a mechanical failure is suspected, and that the tail rotor may have failed in flight. The air force has opened a high-level investigation. Police in Aralaganwila are also investigating. Air Force spokesman Group Captain Eranda Geeganage briefed reporters on the flight.
The Bell 212 is a two-blade, twin-engine medium utility helicopter built in the United States, and it first flew in 1968. The air force bought two in 1984 and nine more the following year. As of late 2023 it had at least nine, though about five were in maintenance at the time. Overhauls are done by the Engineering Wing at the Katunayake base, where the work includes extending the life of the aging airframes.
No Bell 212 had crashed in air force service before. The service has lost other aircraft in recent years, mostly PT-6 trainers. One crashed near Kantale on December 15, 2020, killing a trainee pilot. Another went down on August 7, 2023, after takeoff from China Bay, killing the pilot and a flight engineer, and the entire PT-6 fleet was grounded afterward.
The air force has said it is looking at ways to modernize its fleet and buy new helicopters.
Sources
- Sri Lankan military helicopter crashes into reservoir: 6 personnel killed in Bell 212 accident; helicopter en route to special forces parade demonstration
- Technical fault suspected in deadly SLAF Bell 212 crash, 6 military personnel dead – Breaking News | Daily Mirror
